An upcoming cancer study gives Twin Ports residents the chance to help fight cancer for generations to come. Joe Gigliotti reports.

The American Cancer Society is expecting about 31,000 new cancer cases in Wisconsin this year and about 28,000 in Minnesota. Twin Ports residents can help lower those numbers by enrolling in the Cancer Prevention Study 3, or “CPS-3.” Marjorie Johnson is a Community Partners Specialist with the American Cancer Society. “This is a great study. It’s a once in a generation opportunity for us here in the Twin Ports.”

The study spans over a 20-30 year period and is open U.S. residents ages 30-65 who have never had cancer, excluding skin cancer. Johnson says the first two studies went well over the last several decades led to CPS-3.

“The Cancer Prevention Study 1 and 2 continued work on smoking, and then also started looking at obesity and other lifestyle factors so that we also know that if we keep a healthy weight and get exercise and eat a healthy diet, we reduce our cancer risk significantly.”

They’ll draw blood and take waist measurements, and complete periodic surveys over time. Johnson says the studies have helped put warnings on cigarette packs and trigger public smoking laws. “It isn’t just knowledge that we gain. It’s an effect on public policy.”

She says it’s especially important for Twin Ports residents to enroll in the nationwide study.

“This is a good market for it. We have a lot of different kinds of people. Our hope for this study is that 25% of the participants will come from communities of color because we do not know as much as we need to about how cancer effects diverse populations.”

Johnson says cancer rates in the Twin Ports are consistent with U.S. averages, but with an exception. “American Indian people in the northern plains have unbelievably high rates of colorectal cancer compared to the rest of the country.”

Johnson says this third long-term study will have an even greater impact than the previous two. “Technology today is much better today than it was 5 years ago and nowhere near as good as it’s going to be in 10 or 15 years.”

The Cancer Society hopes to enroll 300,000 adults by the launch of the study in April. Registration for the study can be done at cps3twinports.org

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